Quinate Nights
by Bellicose Blue
Summary: Maleficent finds her feelings toward her raven servant changing as she turns to him for comfort.
1. Chapter 1

Four nights before Aurora's sixteenth birthday, Maleficent gazed up at the stars. Somehow, despite the time she had been betrayed, had lost her wings, had woken up screaming from a pain more unbearable than any other, she had never felt so lost as she did right now.

"I failed." Her voice was soft, low, pitched only to the stars that glimmered so mockingly above her. "The one thing I actually cared about, the one person I wanted to save... And now she's gone."

'Not gone yet,' a small voice in her head whispered. 'But pretty close,' another snapped.

Maleficent rolled onto her side and stared away, far into the trees in the distance. If only she hadn't made the curse unbreakable... How could she possibly greet Aurora, her precious little Beastie, tomorrow, knowing that on the day she turned sixteen, her Beastie would fall into a sleep like death?

If only she had been stronger an hour ago, strong enough to rip Aurora from the claws of the curse Maleficent had cast nearly sixteen years ago... But there was no reversing the clock, no changing her decision that fateful day during Aurora's christening. Now she could only live with her pain forever.

Suddenly Maleficent was cold, chilled to the bone by her own frozen heart. More than anything, she wished her treetop nest had a thick blanket like the ostentatious furs Stefan had worn at the christening, all red velvet and lush fur that looked as silky as the feathers on her wings had been.

Maleficent huddled into a tight ball, hugging her knees to her chest for warmth, wishing someone else would wrap their arms around her and take some of the pain away. Her eyes, however, remained open, and they landed on an ebony raven just a treetop away.

Diaval. He must have finally fallen asleep after waiting for her to return from Aurora's cottage. Her faithful servant had been her loyal spy, her confidant, and her wings from since before Aurora's birth. Even though he'd had countless chances to fly away, Diaval had stayed, whereas Stefan had-

No. She couldn't let her mind stray down such dangerous paths. With a determined exhalation, she rolled to her other side and closed her eyes.

Her shivering gradually morphed into full-out shaking, teeth chattering, feet and hands numb. She wondered if Diaval was any warmer... No, that would be too much of an intrusion. She'd simply have to tough it out on her own.

But as the minutes lengthened and Maleficent grew only chillier, she finally relented. With a sigh that split the frosty air- how had the nights of summer grown so cold?- she flipped back over to face Diaval's sleeping form.

A breath of magic later, and Diaval's raven body floated gently towards her. She took him from the air with both hands and gently placed him on the mossy nest beside her. 'Desperate times call for desperate measures,' she thought grimly as she snapped her fingers and whispered a command. 'And though I'm not sure if it's for the cold or for losing Beastie soon, but these are desperate times.'

Diaval grew from a large black bird to a black-clothed, pale man in a few seconds, lying on his back with his limbs splayed. His dark hair hid his eyes, and she carefully brushed strands away. Maleficent carefully watched his eyelids to see if they flickered or moved, sure signs he was waking up and would need to be moved back. But he was perfectly still. He'd always been an easy sleeper, usually waking only at the sound of her voice calling him to spy once more. But now his chest rose and fell with deep, rhythmic breaths that somehow soothed the faerie.

'He did say anything I needed, I could have of him,' she reminded herself to ease her conscience. 'It's not like I'm going to violate him. He is my servant, and there is nothing untoward in using someone else for warmth and comfort.'

With that, Maleficent gingerly laid down beside Diaval. Her servant still had not woken up, and a part of her was glad. But she didn't feel much warmth from the foot or two of space she had left between them. With a sigh she felt rather than heard, she moved over even closer until the outline of her dress just touched his side, her head at his shoulder's height.

Her eyes fluttered closed, lids made heavy by the soothing warmth and nearness of a trusted friend. Then his right arm, which had been flung out far to the side, moved.

Maleficent's eyes widened, and she looked over as best she could to see Diaval's face. There was no sign of waking, but he must have been a restless sleeper, as his arm curled instinctively behind her neck and draped casually on her shoulder.

No one had ever held her so close or for so long since Stefan. Even though Maleficent knew that what she perceived as a comforting gesture was really just a habitual movement of sleep, there was something nice and calming about it.

She closed her eyes again and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. All her worrying about Beastie would do no good, anyway. When she saw Aurora next, Maleficent would tell her the truth.

She leaned into his warm arm and wondered if Diaval would agree.

**Hello lovely readers! I'm Blue, a first-time fanfic writer and also shooting for my first NaNo during July Camp. I saw **_**Maleficent**_** a few days ago and was incredibly inspired to write a fanfic about Maleficent and Diaval- after nearly 20 years, surely something's going on there, right?**

**Please excuse this intro chapter- I wasn't entirely sure of how to start off this short story, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to use fewer words. The next chapter (I was so inspired, I've already written bits of Chapter 4!) is much longer than this one, which I'll apologize for, too. The third chapter is in a happy medium, and I'm not yet sure of the fourth and fifth.**

**This story will have five parts that I'll try to publish every few days. I may write another story after this, perhaps a chain of one-shots, but there are already a nice amount out there, so I'll play it by ear.**

**I'm not sure if I need a disclaimer, since it should be fairly obvious I wouldn't be writing a **_**fan**_**fiction about anything if I claimed ownership, but for the record, I do not own or claim to own any of the people, places, things, plots, and dialogue from Maleficent.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Maleficent rose even earlier than usual to send Diaval back to his roost. She carefully maneuvered his newly-raven body to the tree limb he had perched on the night before and set him down.

'No nightmares,' she thought with a smile. 'I slept completely through the night for once.' For the first time since she could remember, Maleficent hadn't awoken in a cold sweat, blinded by panic and heaving gasps that would cause Diaval to open one dark raven eye questioningly. Even though lying so close to him had made her flustered, she had to admit that he was quite warm.

But Diaval still slept peacefully, his black wings tucked by his sides. Maleficent eyed his wings with just a hint of jealousy, then shook her head and leaped from her nest.

The sun was already up and softening the ground, leaving no trace of how cold Maleficent had been the previous evening. 'Diaval's arm was quite warm,' she mused. 'I wonder if it's a bird trait.'

To clear her head of such stray thoughts, she began searching for foods to make a suitable breakfast with. She piled up berries and black nuts in her hand, the other free to send healing magic through the broken tree limbs she found as she scavenged. With a pang, she realized she'd been neglecting her duties as Queen of the Moors as she'd taken advantage of the warm summer days with Aurora and Diaval.

A loud cawing filled the air, and Maleficent looked up to see Diaval circling lazily above her head. He must have just woken up, for his dark eyes were lowered slightly. "Go find the Beastie and wake her up," she told him. Had he been able to turn into a human, Maleficent felt as though he might have to respond, but the raven instead adjusted his wing angle and began to fly easily towards the cottage in which Aurora resided with her incompetent aunties.

A short while later, as Maleficent was arranging the various fruits, leaves, and nuts in portions, Diaval returned alone. Her eyes narrowed, and she flicked her fingers even as she warned, "I hope Beastie is just being slow today. I'd hate to hear that my servant failed me."

Diaval stumbled as he landed, not being quite near enough to the ground when he was transformed back into a human. "I didn't get to see her, but it sounded like her aunties are piling work on Aurora to prepare for the move back to the castle. She's taken some clothes down to the stream to wash."

Maleficent rolled her eyes. "Of course. Those lazy idiots would probably drown themselves trying to do anything."

"Most likely," Diaval agreed. Then his gaze dropped to the berries. "Mistress, are you actually..."

Maleficent arched one eyebrow. "No, I don't believe that statement is one you should continue," she said icily.

The raven-man's scarred face split into a smirk. "I can't believe it! Queen Maleficent, guardian of the Moors, renowned and feared by all the world over... Cooking breakfast like some sort of common peasant! Can berries even be cooked?"

"I'm sure a dog would appreciate this meal more than you would, Diaval," she threatened, trying to hide the little thrill that had flared up inside her when he had said her name by narrowing her eyes.

"Mm, I don't believe so. After all, dogs are carnivores. I'd say it's such a light meal, it's food for the birds, but I wouldn't even touch that!" He let out a laugh at his own wit.

"But rabbits love berries," Maleficent responded coolly.

Diaval froze. "Breakfast looks delicious, Mistress. Do you require any assistance?" His tone immediately adopted stiff formality.

"You sure have a smart mouth for a raven. No, thank you." Maleficent gave a triumphant smirk and returned to her cooking. "Now, if I can make them dry, they'll last longer," she muttered to herself. She created a flicker of golden flame and held it about a foot away from the berries.

Her attention moved over to Diaval, who sat beside her and leaned his elbow, chin in hand, on the rock Maleficent was cooking on. "What are you d-"

His words were cut off by a scream from his own mouth as Maleficent's flame blazed, toasting the fruits to cinders and scorching off a good deal of his eyebrows.

"Oops," she said with quite the opposite expression.

"My beautiful self! What have you done?" Diaval shouted, gingerly touching what remained of his eyebrows and hair. "I can't believe this! It's one thing to be a human, but an ugly human?"

"You've been one all your life," Maleficent replied with a straight face. Inwardly, she was cracking up at his vain predicament. "I, for one, think fire improves your looks."

"Of course you would, Mistress! I look good in anything! But this?" He turned his onyx gaze to her, eyes filled with vain horror. "I look like those toys Aurora had when she was five and cut their hair off with scissors!" Diaval was now standing as he loudly spoke, towering well above Maleficent.

"Ah. Speaking of the Beastie, we should make sure she doesn't hit her head and drown in the stream." Maleficent seized one of his wildly gesturing hands and pulled herself up. "Although I suppose there isn't much of a breakfast left." _But it was so worth it to see the look on his face_.

Diaval was silent for a moment. "Mistress! Wait! Could you at least make my hair regrow?" Diaval pleaded after his brief silence, chasing clumsily after the faerie who had already strode away.

"Only if it'll stop your pointless jabbering," Maleficent snapped, but she did flick her fingers and release a hint of golden dust begin her.

"Thank you, Mistress. Now that my dashingly handsome good looks are back, I'll be able to greet Aurora much more cheerfully." He gave a trademark smirk, lightly brushing his new hair back into place.

Maleficent's eyes narrowed slightly as she trudged through the moors. Could she be... jealous? Of Beastie? No, that would never happen. "Oh, I didn't realize you were so... romantically inclined," she finally said neutrally.

Diaval choked as her insinuation finally reached him. "N-no! Never! She's practically my daughter! I just know she'd insult me if I showed up half bald!"

"Mm," Maleficent responded. "That's good, for if you were to break her heart, I'm afraid I'd have to break your wings. And what good would you be to me then?"

During their banter, they happened upon the stream. "Oh, speak of the devil. Hush now." Diaval let out a squawk, rather like his raven croak, as Maleficent grabbed him by the hand again and dragged him behind a patch of trees.

"I told you to hush," she whispered crossly, glaring at him.

"My apologies, Mistress. You surprised me." A faint redness was dusted on his pale cheeks, and Maleficent glanced down at their clasped hands and hurriedly dropped his.

She turned back to watch her Beastie. The blond girl played in the water for a while before finally turning to her tasks. Maleficent slid down the tree trunk and sat, Diaval following suit. Satisfied that Aurora would be safe for now, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the trunk.

She was awoken by a sudden tensing of Diaval next to her. Her eyes flickered open, and she followed his intent gaze. A well-dressed boy stood in front of a chubby horse, talking in the most awkward manner to her Beastie, who blushed and spoke choppily back.

When the boy turned back and hopped on his horse, Aurora stared after his retreating figure for far too long. Then she blushed visibly even from the distance, stooped to gather the cleaned linens, and hurried away.

When Maleficent turned back, Diaval stared at her with hope in his eyes. "That boy is the answer! True love's kiss!" Just noticing how much the raven-man cared for Aurora- no matter how platonic he claimed it was- made Maleficent bitter.

"Have you not worked it out yet?" she hissed spitefully. "I cursed her that way because there is no such thing."

Diaval frowned, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. Maleficent flinched just barely under his steady gaze, and his eyes narrowed farther. 'Damn raven, always so perceptive!' she cursed silently. But the man was, for once, wise, and kept his mouth shut.

"If you're quite done staring at me, let's go. I think I'm all done with cooking for today, and I'm starving. You can go ahead and collect for lunch. I believe a suitable meal would include fish and berries. I'll expect you, so don't take long," she ordered frostily, façade fully in place. Before Diaval could complain about the chore, she gave a flick of her fingers, and the man was returned to his raven state once more.

He voiced his frustration by taking a dive at her horns, but she easily warded him off with a burst of green-gold magic. The raven finally gave up and soared into the treetops, out of her sight.

"Hmm. What to do..." Maleficent's gaze landed on some of the washed clothes that Aurora had left behind in her bedazzled state. "I suppose I could help the little Beastie. She's likely forgotten about these, anyway." With more magic, she lifted the pile of linens and began to walk to the cottage in which Aurora had resided for nearly sixteen years.

Her imposing figure hidden behind a cluster of trees, she guided the clothes to lie as if dropped unnoticed near the door. Then the faerie slipped away, back through her sturdy thorn barricade and back into the Moors.

Lunch proved better than expected- who would have guessed how good fish could taste when roasted over a fire? Though the heat was sweltering, the berries Diaval had collected were much more satisfying than the burnt little cinders Maleficent had made that morning. Diaval obligingly chatted about his raven family, avoiding the tense discussion they had shared earlier. She only had to listen and nod at key points, for nearly two decades with the man had taught her what minimal attention he needed to keep talking. In fact, her attention was wavering from her food to the sleek material of his tunic, the few stray feathers that joined his overlong hair, the knots of scar tissue that sliced over his visible body. She imagined the different sensations that would run over her fingertips if she reached out-

"Well, mistress?" Diaval had stopped and was staring curiously at her.

He repeated, "Would you care for me to see if Aurora can come here?" Clearly she hadn't been paying enough attention.

"Ah, yes, of course." She hastily covered up her blunder by flicking her fingers quickly. Diaval made his customary circle once above her head, then flew in the direction of Aurora's cottage.

"I really need to get in control of myself," she murmured as soon as he was out of earshot. "I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I don't like it one bit."

'He's your servant and your friend. Not some little fantasy. So snap out of it and get back to work,' she scolded herself silently. Always silently. No one else could ever hear these treacherous thoughts.

She was too busy fuming at herself and her own stupidity to notice the advancement of two shadowy figures until one leaped out at her. It was Aurora, the girl's arms wrapping around Maleficent's waist in a hug.

"Godmother! It's so good to see you again!" The girl was unnervingly chirpy, and the familiarity of 'Godmother', the nickname she hadn't dissuaded Aurora from, made the faerie tense up for just a second before leaning down to pat Aurora's shoulders with awkward movements.

Normally, Maleficent would have changed 'Pretty Bird', as Beastie called him, back into a human, but she instead dismissed him with a tilt of her head. After all, she still had to warn the blond minx about the curse, and she didn't really want his accusing eyes. "It's good to see you, too, Beastie. Thank you, Diaval."

The raven soared over her head, and squawked once as acknowledgement before gliding away.

"So-" Maleficent began, but was interrupted.

"Godmother, I need some boy advice," the girl blurted out, then covered her mouth with both hands.

Maleficent frowned. "About what?"

"Well, I met this boy today, and he's really sweet and charming and handsome, and I already really like him. But I don't know if it's just a crush or if I love him," Aurora said in a rush of words.

"Ah." That had to be the boy she and Diaval had seen talking to Aurora for a bit by the river. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you."

Maleficent began to lead the way through the moors, Aurora tagging along behind. "But why not?" the petite creature whined.

"Because I've never been in love. I can't tell you about something I don't know, obviously." She shook her horned head incredulously.

"But what about Diaval? Aren't the two of you in love?"

Maleficent skidded to a stop. "W-what?" she spluttered. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on. I've seen the way he looks at you sometimes!" Aurora doubled back to stand with Maleficent.

Maleficent could only blink silently for a minute. Then: "What?"

Aurora winked. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"How he looks at me? With irritation? Annoyance? Resentfulness?"

"Don't be like that, Godmother. Have you really never noticed?" Aurora paused in though. "Hmm. Well, when he looks at you and he thinks I don't notice, it's like you're the only thing in the world to him. Like you're the center of his universe. His eyes get so soft, like they're melting. Then he looks away, but I can tell." Aurora beamed.

Maleficent was struck dumb. All she could say was a soft utterance, barely a whisper.

Aurora smiled up at the faerie. "You're so lucky. I wish someone loved me like Diaval loves you," she sighed.

"I think you're deluding yourself. Beastie. Diaval and I aren't..." Maleficent let her voice trail off, uncertain of even how to conclude such a sentence.

"I know that! But if you ever wanted to, he would." Aurora's eyes were filled with all the innocence and naïveté of a nearly-sixteen girl.

"Don't be ridiculous. Besides, it's not like love exists. It's all just infatuation. Some people realize that sooner than others. That's why relationships break apart," Maleficent snapped, although a tiny part whispered, 'What if?'

Aurora looked just a bit hurt at her curtness. "Then Diaval is totally and completely _infatuated_ with you, Godmother." The girl turned up her nose and raced away, leaving behind the wingless faerie and her confused thoughts.

Finally, Maleficent followed the path Aurora had taken to a peaceful bank beside the river. Aurora had easily beaten her there, and now sat cross-legged, mindless of her dress, playing with Diaval. The raven hopped to and fro, carrying a ribbon Maleficent had seen in the girl's hair earlier, and Aurora giggled as she tried to retrieve her ribbon. The raven sauntered up so close that Aurora could almost pet the feathers of his head, then sprang away just as the girl reached for it. This was apparently an established game.

Maleficent leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree, watching silently. Finally, after many fumbles and near-misses, Aurora leaned all the way forward and snatched the ribbon from Diaval's beak. She waved it over her head victoriously and grinned at Maleficent. It looked as though she had been forgiven for her rudeness, and she was suddenly happy.

"Come over here and I'll braid your hair, Beastie," she called out. The girl ran obligingly over, the sky blue ribbon fluttering in her fingers. Diaval followed, clicking his beak as he tried to reclaim the hair ornament. Aurora leaped with a squeak into Maleficent's arms, and the faerie shielded her young charge from the greedy beak of the raven.

At times like these, she could almost imagine that Aurora was still a young girl with many years left of her life, but the girl- no, the young woman- was fast approaching the last birthday she would likely ever see. As she yelled, "Diaval! Stop pestering the poor Beastie!" and flicked her fingers over Aurora's shoulder, she almost wanted to cry and bury her face in the girl's golden hair. Diaval stumbled in mid-flight, landing awkwardly on the ground as his limbs elongated and lost their feather coating. She pulled Aurora even closer to keep her out of harm's way as the raven-man tried to regain his balance in a new form.

Then just as suddenly, her melancholy mood was gone. "Come, sit, Beastie dear." She knelt on the ground, and Aurora obediently sat with her back to the faerie. Maleficent began to gently braid the girl's long locks, twining them into one large section she braided down the back of her dress.

Occasionally, her eyes would flicker up from her work- she'd braided Aurora's hair so many times that her fingers moved on autopilot- and would catch Diaval, leaning against a nearby tree, watching not the growing braid but her own face. When she caught his eye, his gaze would meet hers for just an instant, then drop down to Aurora.

Something about that unsettled her. Maybe Beastie was right? No, she couldn't believe that. But she did occasionally glance up and meet his eyes as she asked Aurora for the prized ribbon.

Now the girl leaped eagerly to her feet, running her fingers over the neat braid and flipping the end of the ribbon that kept it tied. She chattered excitedly about the impending move, and Maleficent couldn't bring herself to spoil the child's joy. Instead, she watched over Aurora as she played and sent her home when it grew dusk.

She walked back to her tree nest with Diaval just back of her side, the silence anything but comfortable. 'How strange,' she thought. 'I spent more than sixteen years not even caring if I spoke at all.' Maleficent was only too relieved to spot her favorite tree in the distance, her pace increasing as she tried to escape the tension. Diaval easily matched her pace, and dipped his head in a good-night salutation just before a golden glow usually changed him back to a raven when they halted in front of the tree.

"Oh!" Realization was an iron punch to the stomach, and Diaval's dark eyes widened just a bit in concern.

"Mistress?" he asked tentatively.

"Today... I was going to tell the Beastie..." Her heart sank as she realized she'd deceived the poor girl for yet another day. "I'll have to do so tomorrow, then."

Diaval was silent for just a moment. "Even if you can't save her from the curse..." he began cautiously. "... you can still find that boy from the stream. I know you don't think it will work, but... Isn't she worth a shot, Mistress?"

Maleficent hesitated, worked her jaw like she was going to respond, then merely said, "Good night, Diaval." His mouth opened in protest, but too late. With a rustle of feathers, he swooped up to his usual perch and curled up to sleep in a most haughty manner.

But Maleficent was too worked up over the idea of her Beastie falling under the curse to sleep. Sighing, she tossed and turned for quite a while. 'I fell asleep much faster and slept much better with Diaval here,' she mused. Her conscience roared counterarguments, shouting how cruel it was to use him against his will like that, how she couldn't toy with his feelings, how she couldn't mistreat the only person she trusted-

"I don't care. I'm tired," she muttered as, under the light of the risen moon, Diaval's raven form floated towards her. As soon as she had ascertained sleep in his human form, Maleficent curled against his side. His arm again automatically curved around her shoulders.

Her head still ached. Sleeping on his bony arm and the solid wood of the tree had given her a wicked headache. She watched his chest rise and fall and wondered how comfortable that would be.

Her only witness was asleep. She leaned her head against his chest and pressed closer. Already she was feeling the beginnings of sleep start to form, but she kept herself awake long enough to pray for courage for the next day.

**Hello again! I'm terribly sorry for the delay in this second installment- circumstances kept me away from a computer to upload this chapter, although I was delighted to see all the positive feedback when I returned! I'm absolutely thrilled that y'all have liked the story so far, and I hope that this chapter lives up to expectations.**

**To ThatPyscoTrekkie: That is the most deliciously diabolical request I've ever seen! I'd be happy to take you up on that, although it may be a few days in coming. I'll definitely get to it before I leave, don't worry.**

**To DancingKitKat: Thank you for the advice! I'm so ashamed how OOC that line was- you're completely right, and I'm happy to report it's been changed.**

**I'm leaving for nearly three weeks at the beginning of July, but I'll be finalizing and posting the rest of the chapters before then. The next chapter should be up tomorrow! Please keep up the reviews- I do love feedback of any kind, and though I'm not a fan of flames, I'll happily take criticism. I'd also be happy to accept more requests- the more I write, the more I improve!**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, she awoke with the pounding in her head gone. Once again, she'd had a solid night of sleep. She felt almost regretful to leave as she moved Diaval's shrinking form back to his own perch and curled up in the warm spot he had left behind.

'What has gotten into me?' Maleficent wondered, staring at nothing. 'I have to act normal today. He's going to notice that something's up and he might sleep less soundly.' Somehow, that thought worried her. She had started to grow to like the strange sleeping arrangement, although the pesky Beastie would have argued she had instead grown to like-

She cut that thought smoothly, as if sliced by a knife, and rose to greet the day to avoid any similar ones. "Diaval!" Maleficent called, wanting to see Aurora as soon as possible to tell her about the curse. "Diaval!" The raven still hadn't stirred, and with a sigh, she sent a tendril of greenish haze over to him. A sharp popping sound echoed in the clearing, and the raven merely tumbled out of the tree, feathers smoking slightly.

"Come on, Diaval. Wake up." She flicked her fingers with annoyance, and the bird on the ground morphed into a man in deep slumber. Sighing, she resorted to lower means. She strode over to where he laid asleep and delivered a sharp kick to his side.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Now Diaval was awake, rubbing a sore spot on his side and wincing.

Maleficent gave an effortless shrug. "You wouldn't wake, and I need you to bring Aurora." Her voice was as cold as always, and Diaval must have chosen not to argue.

"My apologies, Mistress. I go." He dipped his head, awaiting transformation into his natural state.

Maleficent let her gaze linger just a bit on the dark feathers that joined his hair as she flicked her fingers again. The raven soared off on wings that made Maleficent resentful.

She turned those petty thoughts aside as well and began her usual routine of healing the forest. She walked its perimeter, growing and strengthening the thorn barriers along with mending broken branches and dying plants. Her Moors had to be pristine inside if she was even going to bother protecting it.

Maybe a half hour later, as she hummed softly while rejuvenating a plant whose flowers were wilted and dying, she heard the familiar flapping of wings.

"Ah, Diaval. The Beastie is still busy, then, is she not?" Maleficent said without bothering to turn around. The raven landed on the now-healed plant and tilted his head sideways in a decidedly birdlike manner. Maleficent carelessly twitched her fingertips, and Diaval sprang up human, far too close for her comfort.

She flinched and backed up. Diaval was hemmed in by the plant behind him, but he dipped his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mistress. Aurora won't be free until early afternoon, but she promised to bring a picnic for us."

"A... pic... nic?" Maleficent tried out the unfamiliar word. "What is that?"

Diaval laughed, a hoarse birdlike sound. "Mistress, I'm a raven. I know even less about it than you."

A picnic turned out to be a collection of food items in a basket. The three sat on a blanket spread in the shade. Maleficent and Diaval took turns trying to name each exotic food, and Aurora would laugh and tell them its real name.

"You've got to be kidding me. A sand witch? How would that even taste good?" Diaval queried, picking up one of the mentioned food and raising it to examine it.

Aurora giggled. "A sandwich, Pretty Bird, not a sand witch. It's just cheese and meat and vegetables- whatever you want- in between two slices of bread."

"I don't know. I'm very suspicious. What if I take a bite, and the bread's full of sand and some evil creature places a curse on me?" Diaval and Aurora both cracked up at that, but the mention of a curse made Maleficent bitter.

"Oh, quit your complaining and just eat, Diaval," she snapped.

Diaval and Aurora both gave her a bemused glance. "As you wish, Mistress," he finally replied, taking a bite of the sandwich.

Aurora gave a fiendish smile. "For someone who just got scolded, you seem remarkably pleased," she told Diaval angelically.

Maleficent rolled her eyes- would the beast never cease to try to matchmake? It seemed as though the creature had always tried to push herself and Diaval together, innocently at first, and now much more persistently.

Diaval gave a perfectly nonchalant shrug. "Of course I am. This sandwich is actually rather tasty, and food always puts me in a good mood," he responded as perfectly casually as though Maleficent had coached him on what to say, waving the now-half eaten sandwich at the blond minx.

Maleficent smiled just a bit at how dejected the Beastie was at being thwarted. She took a bite of the sandwich Aurora had handed her earlier and leaned against the sturdy trunk of a tree.

"Do you love Godmother, Diaval?" Maleficent's smile vanished as she choked on the sandwich. Through streaming eyes, she could see Diaval doing nearly the same thing, raspy coughs escaping as he tried to clear his airways.

"Beastie, didn't you learn proper etiquette? Your aunties ought to be ashamed," Maleficent finally drawled when it became clear that Diaval was unable to speak. "It's considered impolite to ask things that make people choke on their food."

Aurora shrugged. "Sorry. I was just curious. Are you okay, Pretty Bird?"

Diaval appeared to have recovered, but now writhed on the ground like he was in death's throes. He gasped, "Mistress... Avenge... me…", then flopped to one side dramatically. His tongue lolled out as an afterthought.

"Gladly. Come along, Beastie. There's a large pile of mud just waiting for you." Maleficent grabbed Aurora by the arm and began to pull her to the river.

"What was that?" she hissed as soon as they were out of earshot.

Aurora beamed up at her. "You're welcome, Godmother!" She sounded like she had genuinely done the faerie a favor.

"For what?" Maleficent asked, flabbergasted.

"Don't be difficult. If he didn't have feelings for you, he would have said so. But I didn't hear any denial there!" Aurora smiled widely, all electric confidence.

Maleficent shot the girl a withering glare. With a wave of her hand, a pile of mud from the river soared out and smacked the girl in the face.

Aurora gasped in shock. "Oh, it's on!" Her mouth curved into a competitive smile, and their mud fight began.

It was soon evening, and Aurora ran up to the faerie to say farewell. Maleficent knew she had to tell the girl, and began. "There is an evil in this world, hatred and betrayal, that I cannot protect you from."

But Aurora merely laughed and smiled with relief. "I already got this speech from my aunties! I know- the world's a scary place, and I need to watch out. But don't worry, Godmother, I'll be fine. In fact, I was wondering... Could I stay here in the Moors with you? When I grow up, that is. Maybe when I'm sixteen? Ooh! That's only in a few days! What do you-"

Maleficent swallowed the lump in her throat as she interrupted the girl's chattering. "Yes, of course, Beastie."

That night, she stared up at the stars. Her fingers curved into fists, the long nails digging into her skin. She didn't mind. The pain was nothing compared to what she would feel with Beastie gone.

And then something wet and warm began to ooze from her clenched fists. She raised one to her face. Blood was visible, a crimson smear in the starlight. Maleficent needed something else to cling to, or she'd bleed out before morning.

With a sigh, she turned to Diaval. How had he become her comfort so quickly? But maybe he had always been, and she just hadn't noticed until now.

His sleeping form drifted over to her, and she made space for his transforming body. Then she curled up against his side, laid her head on his chest, and shed a single tear.

Her Beastie... The girl she had gradually come to love, who had determinedly thawed out her heart, was going to die... And Maleficent couldn't burst the bubble of happiness the girl had shown at being able to live in the Moors. Not when the creature was doomed to an everlasting sleep in just a few short days.

Suddenly she needed something to strengthen her. The closest thing was Diaval's left hand, slung over his stomach in much the same way as his other arm always curled around her shoulders.

'But you can't wake him,' Maleficent reminded herself as the fingers of her right hand reached for his. She poured all her frustration and sorrow and despair into her grip, and for one tense moment, it looked like he might awaken.

Her grip gradually slackened as more tears began to flow, seeping into the fabric of his tunic and staining her face an unattractive red. She cried silently, gasping shaky breaths, as she mourned for what would soon be the loss of her Beastie.

**Hello again, everyone! The third chapter, as promised! The other two should be up by the end of the month.**

**I'm pretty pleased at the way the story is flowing; I feel like my writing style's been more consistent than usual. If you have any ideas or suggestions to improve my story or requests for other works, please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Maleficent was shocked to find she had actually fallen asleep with the amount she had cried. She hadn't wept so much as a single tear since Stefan's betrayal, and she supposed the energy spent sobbing had been more than enough to push her into sleep's arms.

'And Diaval's,' a voice whispered nastily in her mind. She flinched and tugged away from the raven-man, pulling her fingers from his grasp. She couldn't allow herself to think of him like that. For goodness' sake, he was bound to her for life! Pushing for anything... nonplatonic to happen would destroy the careful boundaries of mistress and spy, of protector and confidant.

'Then what exactly do you call holding hands with him in his sleep?' the voice murmured.

Maleficent shuddered and blocked out the noise as she began the process of relocating Diaval.

She took the time to run down to the stream and rinse the tear stains from her face. She glanced down at her reflection. 'This is as much as you deserve, you monster,' she thought spitefully. 'You should be writhing under the agony of a cage of iron, not free in your kingdom.' She struck the water with magic as green as her eyes, and her image shattered and rippled to unrecognizable proportions. Maleficent left before it could reform.

Diaval still slept on his perch, his head lightly tucked under one wing. She called, "Diaval," and the bird immediately woke up, a welcome contrast to the day before.

When he fluttered down beside her, she changed him back to a human. As always, he staggered slightly with the new balance, but this time managed to steady his landing by dipping into a bow.

"Thank you for not shocking me and then kicking me in the side to wake me again, Mistress," Diaval said with exaggerated formality. "Waking up to a speeding boot is not nearly the same as your smiling face."

"It's closer than you might think," she responded with one eyebrow arched. "Both are signs of your impending doom." Maleficent smiled broadly, and Diaval flinched.

"Go bring Aurora here. I couldn't tell her about the curse yesterday, and she has to hear it from me." Sudden solemnity filled her voice, and Diaval nodded. With a flick of her fingers, his wings sprouted, and he circled once above her head before gliding away.

Diaval arrived without Aurora a short while later. Maleficent looked up from a small fawn she was feeding with surprise and changed him to a man to hear his story.

Diaval was quiet for a moment. "Mistress, Aurora is coming here in a few moments. But... I think the aunties told her something. She seems… very upset," he told her carefully.

"Upset? But whatever do you mean by-"

Maleficent was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was running clumsily over. With a flick of her fingers, Diaval was an ebony-feather raven. He vanished into the forest as a figure stepped out.

The girl looked terrible. Her smooth skin was blotched with patches of red, a few stubborn tears still clinging to the lashes that surrounded her crimson-rimmed eyes. Aurora's voice, normally a soothing balm to Maleficent's ears, now grated on them with more unshed tears as she began, "When were you going to tell me that I'm cursed?"

Maleficent slowly turned to face the girl. Aurora took her silence as an answer and continued. "Is it true?"

"It is." Maleficent felt her heart break with those words, as pure desperation filled her Beastie's eyes. Somehow, the child had retained hope that her aunties were somehow wrong, that the woman she believed to be her Faerie Godmother had not been deceiving her for the past nearly sixteen years of her life.

Aurora's voice grew raspier with gasps. "My aunt said it was an evil faerie. I can't remember her name." She paused, her mind clearly fumbling to remember. "They said… it was…"

"Maleficent," the faerie answered smoothly. Her face was frozen into a façade of glass, only her full lips curving around the words. Something surged to life in her chest, its fluttering pulses still too weak to ever altering her icy disguise. Funny, how easy her name had been to tell the girl now that Aurora would leave her forever- in more ways than one.

Aurora nodded ever so slightly. Now the tears that had swayed on her lashes began to fall, staining her skin even more. She took a few shaky breaths. Finally, the girl asked, "Is that you? Are you Maleficent?"

Something broke within Maleficent, and the faerie couldn't respond. The only outlet she found was to step quietly toward the girl, the tips of her fingers shaking invisibly. Maybe if she could just touch the Beastie, lay one hand on her shoulder and tell the truth, everything would be all right.

"No! Don't touch me," Aurora spat, recoiling from the towering figure. Maleficent let out the slightest gasp, so faint as to barely be heard, as she tried to approach the girl one more time. "You're the evil that's in the world. It's you!" With more contempt and loathing on her face than Maleficent had ever seen, the cursed princess reeled away. She picked up her heavy skirts and fled, leaving Maleficent with bitter apologies on her lips.

Maleficent felt warmth gather at the corners of her eyes, but she pulled her shoulders back and stood haughtily tall. She had already grieved for the child before, wept hot tears that had fallen onto Diaval's chest. She would not cry again. She would remain strong. She would not give the child that already held such hold over her heart any more power by giving into her impulses right now, by ripping the forest asunder by green flame and heartwrenching screams.

A flutter of wings sounded in her ears, so loudly Maleficent jumped. As lost in her thoughts and self-hatred as she was, she hadn't even remembered that Diaval remained a raven.

The bird perched on a tree limb in front of her, tilting his head to the side in a decidedly birdlike manner. If he had been human, Maleficent was sure he would have concern glinting in his dark eyes, but she couldn't handle his presence right now.

"Diaval, be gone," she hissed. In return, he soared to the ground and hopped a few steps closer, head still tilted inquisitively. "Be gone, beast! Leave me alone!" Her rage was an emerald flame that lashed out at his face, and Diaval took to the air with wounded cries.

Now utterly exhausted, the faerie slumped against the sturdy trunk of a tree. _Another job well done, Maleficent,_ she scolded herself silently. _Lose your Beastie, alienate your friend, and completely lose the Beastie in a few days' time._

Somehow she managed to find the strength to move her legs, and once she was walking, she kept a quick pace, as though she could outstrip her problems and the dull ache in her heart.

Maleficent found herself back at her tree. She couldn't even muster the strength to haul her form up into the nest-shaped hollow. "I miss my wings," she murmured mournfully, but even she could tell that was not all she missed.

Diaval seemed to have taken her command to heart, and he did not return all day, though she curled up on the ground and waited for hours. Finally, as the last rays of sun extinguished, he arrived.

She could tell he had already written off the night and was planning to not even attempt a conversation, so she called softly, "Diaval, wait."

The bird stopped, head tilted in confusion, as he turned back to look at her. Maleficent swallowed. This would be a very difficult thing for her to say, as she hadn't apologized since she was still a young faerie. Taking a deep breath, she mumbled, "I'm s-sorry."

There was a moment of stunned silence on both parts, one because she was so astounded at herself she could barely think, the other because he was trapped in a wordless form. But she broke the silence again. "I… I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. That was wrong of me. It wasn't fair that I took it out on you." Now realizing she'd said more here than during the first few years of Aurora's life combined, she stopped her babbling. "Good night, Diaval." And with that, she lowered her eyes and turned away.

Somehow there was more pain in that small gesture than in losing her wings, Maleficent reflected as she climbed up into her nest.

She would not transform Diaval that night, she promised herself. She had to learn to stand on her own two feet, to face the scorching pain that was losing her Beastie. And she couldn't grow any stronger if she ran to Diaval each time her heart panged.

The stars twinkled merrily above her, mocking her fate with silvery laughs that she could almost hear. Her breath was short and sharp in the night air, but she was pleased that no approach of tears rattled in her inhalations.

Her thoughts were cold and merciless as she struggled to find sleep. _Be strong. Harden your heart. You lived alone for many years without Aurora, and you can easily live without her once more. You lived without a servant for many years, and you can certainly do so once more._

_You are strong._

_You are frozen steel._

_You are Maleficent, protector of the Moors._

_You will not cry._

She did not.

**Hello again! This chapter just *barely* was finished today, haha. The next chapter will be quite a bit longer and should flow much more easily, as I'll admit I am very inspired about the final chapter of this quintet.**

**Reviews and requests are always welcome! I'd love it if anyone has any ideas about how to end a chapter in a better manner; I feel like this ending was a bit stilted. Also, please excuse the shocking lack of proper time sequence- I can only mark it down to the error of a first-time fanfic writer and pledge to do better next time.**

**Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my writing! Special thanks to those who have favorited and followed, and even higher praise to those who have left reviews. I love you all!**


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